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New member Username: ToltersdPost Number: 1 Registered: May-06 | I am looking into buying a 5.1 surround system. The problem are the rear speakers: they need to be attached to a couple of narrow columns and have to be small and white or silver in color. I reluctantly considered Bose, but after reading here that is not an option any more. MNC makes very similar looking mini speakers, but I read lukewarm comments about them here. NHT SuperZero is a recommendation I found here, but I don't like the lack of a front grill. The wall for the three front speaker is prewired for in-wall speakers. In-wall would be preferable for these but standard speakers are also possible. With a subwoofer I don't want to spend much more than $1000 for the speaker set. The room is about 350 sqft but open to a much larger loft at the top. I also need a new receiver and was thinking about an NAD T743 or NAD L73 combo with a DVD player. As a TV I am eying a Westinghouse 42" 1080P LCD monitor. Any recommendations? (obviously I am not an audiophile and my old Denon equipment is almost 20 years old). Tilman |
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Bronze Member Username: StefanomSilver Spring, MD United States Post Number: 66 Registered: Apr-06 | I feel like I've been shilling a lot for Athena lately, but you might take a look at their WS-15 speaker at audioadvisor.com |
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Gold Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 4192 Registered: Mar-05 | Tilman, I'd stay away from Westinghouse LCDs, the ones I've seen had really bad picture quality. With a $1K budget and a desire for small size and (if I read you correctly) a readiness to use standard speakers, I'd recommend these: http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/htm200/htm200.html A set of 5 would run you just $664 shipped, leaving you plenty of dough for a decent sub such as the Hsu STF-2 or STF-3. Best of all, the HTM-200s are very easy to drive and very neutral with moderate impedance curves so they can be driven beautifully by inexpensive digital switching receivers such as these: http://www.hookedontronics.com/show_product_details.jsp?cid=5614&c=0606Froogle&b =Pioneer+Elite_EX-500 or the grand-daddy of them all: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009E1YPW I like NAD gear but for an HT setup comprised of small speakers like this, it'd likely by overkill. Plus with the savings you can get a really good LCD or plasma TV on top of a great sub, since that's where you'll get the most visceral enjoyment for your money. |
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New member Username: ToltersdPost Number: 2 Registered: May-06 | Thanks for the help guys. I like the Athena speakers for their small size and the Pioneer and Panasonic receivers for the low price. I used to work for a company called Athena Neurosciences years ago - maybe another reason to like the Athena speakers? Do the Hsu subwoofer and the receivers go with the Athena speakers? One probably can't combine Ascend front speakers (they are somewhat larger) with Athena rear speakers? |
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Gold Member Username: Edster922Abubala, Ababala The Occupation Post Number: 4193 Registered: Mar-05 | Subwoofers can be matched with virtually any speakers. The rears don't need to be matched with the fronts at all IMO, unless you are doing a lot of multichannel music SACD/DVD-A or are extremely picky about that 10% of movie soundtracks that gets sent to the surrounds. The only things that need to be matched are the front 3 speakers, and of course the receiver to the speakers. |